


Pay It Forward

by hobbit_hedgehog



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, Humor, M/M, fic writer summer exchange
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-30
Updated: 2018-07-30
Packaged: 2019-06-18 23:30:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15497220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hobbit_hedgehog/pseuds/hobbit_hedgehog
Summary: For some reason unknown to Tetsurou, the incident with Owl Hair continued to cross his mind for days after the fact.  Which wouldn't have been that much of a problem if it hadn't been affecting Tetsurou in his day-to-day life.  Like when he was trying to focus on homework assignments.  Or take notes in class.  Or make complicated coffee orders.  Or do literally anything other than think about some stranger's muscles and adorable smile.  It was becoming a problem.For tumblr/ao3 user isweartocoffee as a part of the Summer Fic Writers Exchange!





	Pay It Forward

**Author's Note:**

  * For [isweartocoffee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/isweartocoffee/gifts).



> Hiiiiiii Team, did y'all miss me? I'm back! It's been a hectic summer, so sorry for the radio silence. I'll probably get back to posting stuff again in August so look forward to that.
> 
> This is a gift for tumblr and ao3 user isweartocoffee as a part of the Summer Fic Writers Exchange. I hope you enjoy it!

When Tetsurou had agreed to work in his older brother Hiroji's café during his break from school, he hadn't imagined that it would be this, well, boring.  Actually, boring wasn't the right word, in Tetsurou's mind.  Mind-numbingly dull wasn't even the right fit.  Watching paint dry was more interesting than what Tetsurou was currently doing.  Still, he had agreed to work for his brother in exchange for his brother helping to pay for an extra class at his university.  A class he desperately needed to take in order to get his degree.  He would have to endure it.

It was a Sunday afternoon, and there was no one around.  There had been a rush when Tetsurou had first arrived at noon, but after the first half hour, the amount of customers dwindled until it was just Tetsurou and Hiroji.  Usually there'd be one or two university students around, but since it was a break, students weren't exactly flocking to the quiet sanctity of the coffee shop to study.  To make matters worse, Hiroji left soon afterwards.  Tetsurou was alone until the closer arrived.  Tetsurou would have had something to do if Hiroji hadn't confiscated his phone, citing some dumb 'No phones' rule.  That was for other employees, in Tetsurou's mind, not for the younger brother of the owner.  So that left Tetsurou without entertainment for another two hours.

"The bad things I did in a past life weren't bad enough to deserve this," Tetsurou announced to the empty space, slumping over the counter.

Tetsurou glared at the lack of response.  He knew it was silly to expect air to answer him, but still.  He could close early, but he was pretty sure he didn't have the authority to get away with that.  Plus Hiroji would most likely kill him if he did.  And then he really wouldn't be able to get his degree.  If he came back as a ghost he'd be able to.  Maybe.  Did they give degrees to ghosts?

Testurou was mid-debate with himself when the door to the café swung open.  He straightened as a man stumbled through the door, clearly not fully awake despite it being afternoon.  Tetsurou stared at the newcomer.  He had black and white hair that stood straight up, like a great horned owl.  It amazed Tetsurou that the man was barely standing, but had managed to style his hair like that.  And Tetsurou had to admit, this guy pulled it off pretty well.

Owl Hair shuffled towards the counter, his eyes just managing to stay open.  He gave Tetsurou a small wave as he mumbled, "Hey, um, can I get uhhhh…."

Owl Hair trailed off as he stared at the overhead menu.  A minute passed.  Then two.  Tetsurou resisted the urge to tap his fingers against the countertop.

'Is this guy even awake?' Tetsurou wondered as Owl Hair continued to zone out.

Once it looked like Owl Hair was about to start snoring, Tetsurou cleared his throat.  "You okay in there?" he asked.

Owl Hair jerked back into reality at the sound of Tetsurou's voice.  He at least had enough awareness to give Tetsurou an apologetic smile.

"Yeah, sorry, long night," Owl Hair explained. 

Tetsurou decided it'd be better if he didn't mention that it was almost 2 o'clock in the afternoon.

Owl Hair seemed unphased, or rather ignorant to Tetsurou's internal judgment as he continued, "Can I get the largest coffee you're legally allowed to give me?"

Tetsurou blinked twice.  "So… a large?"

"That's the one!" Owl Hair said, more awake than he had been.

"Okay, so one large coffee," Tetsurou mumbled, punching the order into the register.  "That'll be 250 yen."

"Gotcha!" Owl Hair said, reaching into his bag.  He rummaged around inside, then froze.  He slid his bag off his shoulder and onto the counter, unzipping every pouch and frantically digging through his belongings.

"You okay?" Tetsurou asked.

Owl Hair snapped his head up, his eyes locking with Tetsurou's as he said, "It's on my desk."

"Pardon?"

Owl Hair let out a loud groan as he ran his hands over his face and through his hair.  His shoulders sagged, and he dropped his hands from his head.  "Never mind on the coffee," Owl Hair muttered.  "I must have left my wallet on my desk when I left my apartment."

Tetsurou felt the sympathy well up in his gut as Owl Hair turned to leave.  The down expression on Owl Hair's face was tugging on Tetsurou's heartstrings in a way he wasn't entirely thrilled with.  He didn't like seeing this guy sad; something had to be done.  Before he had time to talk himself out of it, he called out to Owl Hair, "Wait!"

Owl Hair stopped, one hand on the door.  He looked back at Tetsurou over his shoulder, one eyebrow quirked. 

Tetsurou turned to the coffee drip and poured some dark roast into the cup.  He grabbed a lid as he made his way back to the front counter, passing both towards Owl Hair.  "Here, on the house."

Owl Hair blinked at Tetsurou, his eyes comically wide.  He approached the counter, reached for the cup, then paused.  "Are you sure?" he asked.

Tetsurou pushed the cup towards Owl Hair, "Yeah, dude.  Just pay it forward."

Owl Hair flashed Tetsurou a wide grin.  He grabbed the coffee in one hand and held the other out in a closed fist.  "That's super cool of you, man.  I really appreciate it."

Tetsurou bumped his fist against Owl Hair's.  "Not a problem, but it is a onetime thing," Tetsurou said.

Owl Hair nodded, his expression serious.  He left without another word, and Tetsurou was left alone once more.

'Well, at least something interesting came out of today,' Tetsurou thought as he slumped back over the counter.  'An hour and a half to go.'

***

For some reason unknown to Tetsurou, the incident with Owl Hair continued to cross his mind for days after the fact.  Which wouldn't have been that much of a problem if it hadn't been affecting Tetsurou in his day-to-day life.  Like when he was trying to focus on homework assignments.  Or take notes in class.  Or make complicated coffee orders.  Or do literally anything other than think about some stranger's muscles and adorable smile.  It was becoming a problem.

Things came to a head two weeks after the run in with Owl Hair.  Tetsurou made it to his organic chemistry class early enough to snag a seat in the middle of the classroom.  Usually, he liked to sit near the front, but that morning he'd had a hard time getting out of bed and the professor was more likely to miss his mid-class nap if Tetsurou was sitting somewhere other than the front row.  He picked a desk in the middle of the row, dropped his bag and immediately collapsed into the seat.  He put his head down on the desk and watched as his classmates arrived.  They all seemed pretty average to Tetsurou, save the one guy with the white hair and the black roots.

White hair with black roots and the—wait a second.  Tetsurou sat up, his hands falling to his sides.  It was the guy from the café.  Owl Hair.  He went to Tetsurou's school.  He was in Tetsurou's _class_.  Tetsurou debated with himself if he should wave the guy down when Owl Hair turned and locked eyes with Tetsurou.  Tetsurou could see the gears turning in Owl Hair's head before his eyes went wide in recognition.  He pointed at Tetsurou, squawking loud enough to draw the attention of the whole room.

"It's you!  Coffee Guy!"

'Coffee Guy?' Tetsurou thought as Owl Hair all but sprinted over.

"Coffee Guy, how's it going?" Owl Hair asked.

"It's going, I guess," Tetsurou replied, still wrapping his head around the fact that Owl Hair was in his class and _he hadn't noticed_.  In fact, he was so caught up in this information that he almost failed to notice Owl Hair dropping his bag on the desk next to his.

"Can I sit here?" Owl Hair asked, sliding into the seat.

"I mean, you're already sitting," Tetsurou said.  "And I'm not sure I'm awake enough to push you out of that seat."

Owl Hair let out a giggle that sounded closer to a snort.  Testurou felt his stomach do a backflip in response.  A cute smile _and_ a cute laugh?  That was unfair.

"My name's Bokuto Koutarou, by the way," Owl Hair said, grabbing Tetsurou's hand and shaking it.  "I never caught your name."

Tetsurou allowed Bokuto to grab his hand, enjoying the contact more than he probably should have.  "Kuroo Tetsurou."

Bokuto grinned, "Nice to meet you officially.  Now I can actually tell my friends your name rather than calling you 'Coffee Guy' or 'Rooster Hair'."

That surprised Tetsurou.  "You've told your friends about me?" Tetsurou asked.

"Yeah!  I've been asking around to see if you were a student here since the coffee shop's so close by, but none of my friends knew who you were," Bokuto explained.

"Huh," was the only reply Tetsurou could manage before the teacher arrived. 

Tetsurou pulled his notebook out of his bag, ignoring the fluttering in his stomach as he watched Bokuto do the same.  There would be no concentrating that day, Tetsurou realized.  Still, he was going to do his best.  And he managed to ignore Bokuto for the first five minutes of the lecture until a folded piece of paper landed on his desk.  Tetsurou glanced at Bokuto out of the corner of his eye; the other man seemed expectant. 

Tetsurou set down his pencil and unfolded the paper.  The paper read, _"I never thanked you for the free coffee the other day"_

Tetsurou held back a snort as he wrote his response, _"Really?  We're on note-passing terms are we?"_

He passed the note back to Bokuto.  The reply was instantaneous.

_:0_

Tetsurou started to reply to the emoji as a second piece of paper landed on his desk, _"But for real how can I repay you for the coffee?  That was super cool of you"_

Tetsurou smirked, scribbling a quick message and handing it back, _"I mean, you can actually pay me for the coffee"_

Tetsurou could see Bokuto reach for his bag and quickly passed him another note.

_"I'm kidding"_

Tetsurou watched as Bokuto studied the note in front of him.  His nose was scrunched in concentration, and he kept sneaking glances at Tetsurou out of the corner of his eye.  Tetsurou found himself flushing in spite of himself.  There was an intensity to Bokuto's gaze, one that left Tetsurou feeling pinned in place.  After a few moments, started writing again.  Then he crossed out what he wrote and started again.  He repeated the process a few times before passing the note back to Tetsurou without looking at him.  Tetsurou took the paper, looking down at the message.

_"Can I take you out sometime?"_

It was Tetsurou's turn to stare at the note.  The phrase, 'Take you out sometime' had so many connotations, and Tetsurou was sure he didn't want to get his hopes up only for them to be dashed.  He scribbled a note back and shoved it at Bokuto without looking at him.

_"Like… for…?"_

Bokuto's response was equally fast.

_"I dunno, coffee?"_

Tetsurou calmly placed the paper back on his desk and turned to look at Bokuto.  Bokuto raised an eyebrow.  He didn't understand.  Tetsurou almost slammed his head onto the desk.  Instead, he wrote a new note.

_"You realize I work in a coffee shop, right?"_

Bokuto actually did slam his head onto his desk.  The resounding _slam_ drew the attention of the entire room, including the professor.  Tetsurou waited until she stopped glaring and returned to teaching before passing Bokuto another note.

_"Dinner would be nice."_

Tetsurou was surprised to see a blush appear on Bokuto's face.  Bokuto fidgeted in his seat, then wrote his reply.

_"Dinner it is then.  Can I have your number?"_

Tetsurou wrote his number down for Bokuto, then turned towards the front.  As Bokuto passed one last note onto Tetsurou's desk, Tetsurou prayed that his karma was good enough that his own face was blush free.

***

Texting with Bokuto was, to Tetsurou's delight, as easy as breathing.  They got along as if they had known each other their whole lives, exchanging quips and jokes well into the late hours of the night.  The only thing that concerned Tetsurou at that point was whether or not that ease would translate well into their maybe-date.  They had agreed to grab dinner on Friday, and their texts seemed flirty enough, but would they actually be like that in public?  Tetsurou had no idea, but it was starting to eat at him a bit.  Bokuto had come into the coffee shop a few times over the course of the week and had the same energy and enthusiasm that he had when texting Tetsurou, but would his demeanor change in a one on one setting?

Tetsurou's worries had blossomed from a seed of doubt to a full blown tree of insecurities.  Enough so that he found himself texting the one friend of his he knew he could count on the night before his maybe-date.

 **To Yaku Morisuke <17:34>:** Yaku

 **To Yaku Morisuke <17:34>:** Yaku

 **To Yaku Morisuke <17:34>:** Yaaaaaaaku

 **To Yaku Morisuke <17:37>:** Yaku Yaku Yaku Yaku Yaku Yaku Yaku Yaku

 **To Yaku Morisuke <17:40>:** MOOOOOOOOORISUUUUUUKE

 **To Yaku Morisuke <17:45>:** Yaku Yaku Yaku Yaku Yaku Yaku Yaku Yaku Yaku Yaku

A bubble with three dots appeared at the bottom of Tetsurou's screen, followed by a standard Yaku Morisuke greeting.

 **From Yaku Morisuke <17:35>:** Kuroo I swear to all that is holy I am gonna bust your kneecaps if you don't stop

 **To Yaku Morisuke <17:36>:** Are you busy

A few minutes passed.

 **From Yaku Morisuke <17:40>:** When am I not

Tetsurou knew from experience that Yaku was, for the most part, a fast texter.  Meaning….

 **To Yaku Morisuke <17:42>:** Are you with Kai

The reply was instantaneous.

 **From Yaku Morisuke <17:42>:** That's none of your business

 **To Yaku Morisuke <17:43>: **Say hi to Kai for me

 **From Yaku Morisuke <17:43>: **….

 **From Yaku Morisuke <17:46>:** Kai says hi back now what do you want

Kuroo paused, unsure how to proceed.  Was this really something that Yaku could help him with?  Would Yaku help him with it?  Was he just freaking out over nothing?

 **From Yaku Morisuke <17:52>: **Kuroo if you don't tell me what you want in the next 10 seconds I'm blocking your number

Kuroo frowned at his phone.

 **To Yaku Morisuke <17:53>: **Don't you think that's a little extreme?

 **From Yaku Morisuke <17:53>: **10

 **From Yaku Morisuke <17:53>: **9

 **From Yaku Morisuke <17:53>: **8

 **To Yaku Morisuke <17:53>: **!!!

 **From Yaku Morisuke <17:53>: **7

 **To Yaku Morisuke <17:53>: **DUDE

 **From Yaku Morisuke <17:53>: **6

Tetsurou panicked, pressing the microphone button on his keyboard and shouting, "THE OTHER DAY THIS REALLY CUTE GUY WITH OWL HAIR CAME TO THE CAFE AND I GAVE HIM FREE COFFEE AND HE'S IN MY CLASS SO HE ASKED HOW HE COULD REPAY ME THEN ASKED ME OUT ON A MAYBE-DATE AND I THINK HE THINKS IT'S A DATE I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO HE'S CUTE AND WE'VE BEEN FLIRTING WHAT DO I DO WHAT'S HIP WITH THE KIDS."

He sent the message, realizing too late that he had sent a voice recording instead of an actual text message.

 **To Yaku Morisuke <17:54>: **Please don't block my number

 **From Yaku Morisuke <17:55>: **…You're nuts if you think I'm gonna listen to that recording while I have my boyfriend over

 **To Yaku Morisuke <17:56>: **Please

 **To Yaku Morisuke <17:58>: **Well?

 **From Yaku Morisuke <18:00>: **It's a date??? Why are you panicking???  You've gone on those before???

 **To Yaku Morisuke <18:01>: **I know I have!!  I don't know why this is so hard!!!

 **From Yaku Morisuke <18:03>: **Why didn't you ask Kenma for advice??

 **To Yaku Morisuke <18:04>: **Idk man, he and Akaashi (???) and that guy from Miyagi (KAGEYAMA???) just happened and he won't tell me how

Yaku didn't reply for several, agonizingly long minutes.  Tetsurou was about ready to pull his hair out when the reply came through.

 **From**   **Yaku Morisuke <18:13>:** Look, our advice?  Enjoy yourself, see what happens.  If it's a date, it's a date and you don't need to stress about it.  You said you two had been flirting so… idk man, give it a shot

 **From Yaku Morisuke <18:13>: **Now leave me alone.  I have my own date to be on.

***

The following night found Tetsurou pacing outside of a restaurant and checking his phone every few seconds for something from Bokuto; it didn't matter to Tetsurou if it was an "On the way" or a "Sorry can't make it". Literally anything would have been enough.  The last text message Tetsurou had received was a smiley face in response to his "We still on for tonight?" text.  Tetsurou wanted to go inside, but then he'd have to explain that he was waiting for someone and that always led to pitying looks.  God, why was he this nervous?

Tetsurou had a hand on the restaurant's door handle when Bokuto came skidding to a halt next to him.  Despite the fact that he was red in the face and panting, his hair was impeccably upright.  "Hey, sorry I'm late," Bokuto said in between gasps.  "Train was late… I ran… all the way from the station…"

Tetsurou patted Bokuto's shoulder with his free hand.  "It's all good, man," he said.  "Let's get inside, yeah?"

Bokuto nodded.  Tetsurou opened the door before gesturing Bokuto inside with an exaggerated sweep of his arm.  Laughing, Bokuto swept his arm out as well, "Oh no, I insist, after you."

Tetsurou felt the nervousness evaporate.  "Oh my, what a gentleman," he teased, stepping to the side so Bokuto could hold the door open.

"Always, despite what my friends might say," Bokuto replied.

Tetsurou took the opportunity to give Bokuto's outfit a once over.  He was wearing a dark blue flannel with a tucked in T-shirt, dark jeans, and boots.  He looked more put together than he did in class.  This, Tetsurou decided as he gave Bokuto's French Tuck another look, was a date outfit.  Tetsurou gave his own outfit a mental review and decided that it also screamed "date outfit", and he let himself relax a bit more.  He stepped through the door, grabbing Bokuto by the hand and dragging him in after.  Tetsurou felt Bokuto's fingers lace with his own and he grinned.  Tonight was going to be a good night.

***

Dinner went faster than either party expected it to, Tetsurou thought.  They spent most of the evening talking about their families, their majors, their hobbies, and before either had realized, the waitress had brought them the check.  They had argued over who would pay for the food before Bokuto shoved his money at the poor waitress.  Bokuto reminded Tetsurou that he owed Tetsurou for the coffee and that Tetsurou could get dessert somewhere else.  Tetsurou agreed, and the two left the restaurant hand-in-hand, much to Tetsurou's delight.  They wandered through a nearby park until the sun went down, then made their way to a café that, thankfully, didn't belong to Tetsurou's brother.  True to Bokuto's word, Tetsurou paid for their order.  As they sat down outside to eat, Tetsurou finally worked up the courage to ask what had been on his mind.

"Hey, Bo?"

Bokuto looked up from his parfait, "Yeah?"

"Is this a date?" Tetsurou asked after a beat.

Bokuto blinked at Tetsurou, one eyebrow quirked.  Tetsurou felt the bottom of his stomach drop out.

"What do you mean?" Bokuto asked.

Tetsurou inhaled, then exhaled, his face growing redder by the second.  "Well, I mean… Didn't you ask me on a date?"

"Did I ask you on a date?"

"You tell me!"

Bokuto took a bite of his parfait, his own face cherry red.  "I thought I did?" he murmured.  "What did you think I meant when I said, 'Can I take you out sometime'?"

"I wasn't sure," Tetsurou admitted, feeling a little stupid.  "I was stuck between the Franz Ferdinand Way or the Franz Ferdinand Way."

"The what and the what?"

"Never mind," Tetsurou said.

Bokuto tapped his lips with his spoon, his nose scrunched in concentration.  After a few minutes of silence, he nodded and turned back to Tetsurou.  "Yes, this is a date.  I've had a good time tonight, and I think you have too.  Can I take you out on another date?"

Tetsurou couldn't help himself.  He laughed, an ugly bray of a laugh that startled Bokuto.

"Why are you laughing?  Are you laughing?  What does that mean?" Bokuto asked in rapid succession.

Tetsurou wiped a tear from his eye, breathing deep, calming breaths.  "Sorry, you were just so sincere that it threw me for a bit of a loop."  Tetsurou could see that Bokuto was still a little put off by his response, so he placed a hand on top of Bokuto's.

"I've had a good time tonight," Tetsurou said,  "and another date sounds good to me."

Bokuto's face lit up in an instant.  He stood, grabbing Tetsurou's hand and pulling him to his feet, sending their desserts toppling to the ground.  Tetsurou didn't have much time to lament his loss before Bokuto had swept him into a tight hug. 

"Great!  Cool!" Bokuto exclaimed.  "I can't-oh, whoops."

"It's okay," Tetsurou said, glancing down at their ruined treats.  "You can get it next time."

**Author's Note:**

> Bonus:
> 
> Just as he was drifting off to sleep, a soft *ding* jerked Tetsurou awake. He reached over to the night stand and grabbed his phone. It was a text from Bokuto.
> 
> From Bo K <3 <20:35>: What the hell did you mean by 'The Franz Ferdinand Way or the Franz Ferdinand Way'?
> 
> Thanks for reading y'all, I hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
